For those still undecided about how to spend the New Year holidays in Bali, now is a great time to consider exploring other Indonesian islands.
Deputy Minister of Transportation, Suyanto, announced that the government is exploring ways to make air travel more affordable during Christmas and New Year.
“Based on yesterday’s calculations and discussions with colleagues, I can say that airfare prices are likely to drop,” promised Suyanto.
He explained that the government is currently assessing the operational costs of each flight, which are a key component of ticket pricing. There is a strong basis for optimism that ticket prices could decrease.
“Our goal is to make plane tickets a Christmas gift or a New Year’s surprise,” he added.
Domestic flights in Indonesia are notoriously expensive. The President-Director of national carrier Garuda Indonesia Tbk (GIAA), Irfan Setiaputra, has occasionally explained why ticket prices are high. According to him, domestic flights incur fuel taxes, unlike international routes, where such taxes do not apply.
“We never raise ticket prices beyond the limits set by the government. But we do have a fuel tax. Taxes are also included in the prices of domestic tickets we sell. If the government tells us to lower prices, we will comply. We follow the government’s instructions since they are our shareholders,” said Irfan.
He acknowledged that Garuda Indonesia is part of the ongoing discussions about ticket price reductions and is one of the contributors in talks with the government. The airline hopes that any price adjustments will take operating costs into account.
Garuda Indonesia stated that they had previously reduced ticket prices for the Jakarta-Bali route, particularly for Sunday flights. The discount reached nearly 35%. The primary goal was to boost both domestic and international tourism to Bali.
However, as of now, we couldn’t find cheaper tickets for late December. On the contrary, prices have predictably increased. For instance, round-trip flights from Bali to Jakarta now cost around 500k IDR more, with Garuda Indonesia offering trips to the capital and back for 2.5 million IDR. Flights from Bali to Komodo and back before Christmas have doubled in price, while tickets for Bali-Yogyakarta-Bali remain unchanged from early to late December.
It appears that while the government continues discussions about holiday discounts, airlines are capitalizing on the opportunity to maximize profits. The key question is how many tickets will remain unsold by the time Indonesian officials finalize their plans to lower prices. Most people plan their New Year’s travel well in advance, with many already securing their tickets long ago.
Sources: ANTARA, kompas.com
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